**

When he’d finally retreated back to his own office, he sat down at his desk and carefully unfolded the now dampened paper that had been pressed into his sweaty hands.

He stared at the numbers scrawled onto the page, then the name beneath it for a few moments in confused silence.

Park Sunwoo

Deposit Number: AJKXCS

Passcode: 910294574…

It was not a name he was used to seeing, but he knew well enough who it was. It took him a few mental loops before the purpose for the existence of the account sank in, and then finally why Hyukjae had entrusted such details to him.

Could it really…? No.

Ryeowook chewed on his bottom lip.

It’s not impossible. But a child?

He grabbed his mouse and his computer screen came alit. With agile fingers, he typed into the search bar for a list of all the safe deposit banks in the country, before the thought that the item was not even in the country crossed his mind. And even if he had a number, he didn’t have the physical key required to unlock the box.

He looked down at the scrunched up ball of paper and carefully smoothed out the creases again.

Take it, the numbers said. I know you all want it. So take it. If you dare.

He cursed Lee Hyukjae, Lee Hyukjae who didn’t have a background, educational or financial or anything really, but who had sources. He had considered him a sizable foe until now, but the paper on his desk made him consider that Hyukjae was much too dangerous for a foe. 

Ryeowook scrunched up the paper and bit his lip.

Heechul clearly had his own plans, and with Sekyu of all people. He would tell Jonghoon, but Jonghoon was not privy to the facts he were, and it wouldn’t be easy to explain to him why they absolutely had to get their hands on the item in the safety deposit box. In fact, Jonghoon wouldn’t be interested at all.

He knew the number. He picked up the phone and dialled without a stutter.

Brrrr. Brrrr. Brrr-

“Hello?” The voice was smiling, expectant.

Ryeowook swallowed and his dry lips.

“Good afternoon. Lee Hyukjae-ssi. I believe we have something to discuss.”

“I believe we do.”

*

The seconds ticked by inaudibly in the dark room. The two men were still bound, one still trembling in after effects out of being roughly manhandled, and the other quite at ease.

“You know…” Sekyu’s tone was light and almost pleasant, as if he were making conversation over tea. “I didn’t think there was anything left tying our families together. But, just that word itself – family -,” He scoffed derisively. “What a joke, really. How ironic is it that our blood-ties are the sole basis for being foes? Isn’t a substantial inheritance so promising for a family split in three?”

“You know that’s all history.” Haeyoung growled. The adrenaline still coursed his veins and the blindfold was bound so tight he saw stars every time he tried to move his eyes. “Blood thins out.”

“Thick blood, thin blood, blood nonetheless.” Sekyu dismissed almost immediately. “You know, I like knowing where everything that belongs to me is, everything that is mine should be in my hands, no?” He carried on this empty monologue haughtily. “Blood dictates that it belongs to me, so hand it over.”

A shot in the dark, but his hunch was confirmed instantly when Haeyoung didn’t reply immediately, and he could imagine the shock on his face. Haeyoung who held his breath. Haeyoung who solved cold cases, a public hero of justice, too honest for his own good. Haeyoung who was an open book, even when his Sekyu couldn’t see his face.

So it does exist.

“… So you and your brothers do have it.” Sekyu sounded amused.

Haeyoung grit his teeth and said nothing. He wasn’t going to fight a lost cause.

“So tell me where it is. And I’ll let you, and your precious little Sunwoo go. Easy as that.” Sekyu reasoned light-heartedly.

Haeyoung laughed then, loud and short, catching Sekyu off-guard. His voice shook.

“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t know where it was?”

As if you could possibly not know where something of that value is hidden... Is he really dumb enough to think I’m the dumb one?

“Hmm… No.” Sekyu mused shortly. “I believe you at least know who does.”

Yet the large sigh from the other man told Sekyu that all the nervous tension had been lost. He wasn’t getting any more information out of him tonight.

“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. Try me.” Haeyoung challenged him. “But don’t touch Sunwoo. If you do, you won’t get away with it.”

“And you think you’ll be able to do something about it?” Sekyu replied cockily, to which there was absolutely no reply. “You really think you’ll be able to touch me?”

He was met with more silence.

“Aiiishh, well. You leave me no choice…”

Haeyoung snorted then, unexpectedly.

“You’re laughing?” Sekyu commented, amused. “I’m telling you I’m going to hurt your brother and you’re not even going to put up a fight?”

“I think if you were going to hurt me or my brother, you would have by now. I didn’t take you to be so full of talk and no action, Han Sekyu.” He paused. “Or since we’ve established blood relations again, it should be Lee Dongha?”

“Don’t regret this later then.” Sekyu smirked, but he was at a loss.

He was still bound here, and he could tell Haeyoung was in the stages of putting the pieces together, trying to figure out what he was up to and why he had yet to move an inch, why he’d dragged him here gagged and bound and yet still had yet to lift a finger to torture the information he needed out of him. He had to think of something before Park Haeyoung realised that they were both prisoners alike, and he had to think fast.

At the very least, he knew now it wasn’t the Parks who’d dragged him here. And his captor wanted something from the both of them. But what?

*

Brr. Brr. Brr-

He picked up and spoke without greeting.

“Hyung. Nothing. There’s absolutely nothing, I’ve just checked his last apartment and there’s absolutely nothing.” Jinwoo said exasperatedly. “There hasn’t been anyone in any of the houses in the past two days, I checked every inch of every wall and ransacked all his drawers, and I’m not finding anything suspicious. What is this key you’re looking for, Hyung?”

Hyukjae sighed. He was now at the boarding gate, waiting in line. “I don’t know. I don’t know until I see it. But I know he has a key, and this key…”

This key. This stupid key and this stupid family.

“It’s a safety deposit key.” Hyukjae finished. 

“Okay.” It’s not hard to predict what he’s going to ask next. “So what’s in this safety deposit box?”

He didn’t want to get him involved.

It was already too late.

“Some paper… contracts.” Hyukjae amended truthfully. “And… something that will ruin us all if we don’t get our hands on it first.”

“What is it? Hyung!” Hyukjae heard the loud thud of him shutting the driver door with full force over the line. “What is this thing and a contract that no one knows about going to do to us? Why haven’t I heard of this?”

Hyukjae exhaled slowly, then spoke calmly.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Yeobbie. I just didn’t want you involved. Because it’s not something you needed to be involved in. It’s not something I wanted to get involved in either.” Hyukjae explained. “But it’s something you’ll have to see to believe. I can’t explain it until you see for yourself. When we find it, you’ll understand.”

“But what are we looking for, Hyung?”

“First… a key.”

“And you have no idea what this key looks like?”

“No.”

“…”

“There are other people after the key, Yeobbie.” Hyukjae cautioned. “And these people will hurt us. Give me some time to think about our next course of action. I expect we’ll be coming in contact with a few familiar faces in the near future. But don’t do anything suspicious. Don’t go back to Sekyu’s. It’s also possible he doesn’t want to be found. I don’t know his agenda.” Hyukjae paused for a deep breath. “Just don’t do anything, okay? Not until I get back. Lay low. Lay low for now.”

“… Fine.” Jinwoo replied grudgingly.

“Good. I’ll see you when I get back then.”

As Jinwoo backed the car out the driveway, he spotted the black car that he had suspected to be tailing him, parked further down the street.

Lay low for now.

He headed straight back to the company, deciding to wrap up work there until Hyukjae made it back into the country.

*

It was a rough landing into the bushes a whole storey below his window, but he didn’t hesitate. The shrubbery softened the impact of his fall and he was almost immediately on his feet and sprinting across the yard in the dark. He needed somewhere to run to. His friend’s house? No, he couldn’t get his friend involved. The company? No. He’d be trapped there for god knows how long.

He needed to find a place that would lose his pursuer immediately, someplace he could run to by foot that could keep him undercover at least until he could contact Jeongsu. Jeongsu had to know. And Haeyoung… he just hoped he was safe.

He ran non-stop down a few blocks, ducking into the shadows whenever a car turned the corner or approached from a distance.

Then finally, he found a 24-hour convenience store. He pulled up his hoodie and went inside to the back of the store, pulling out his phone to call Haeyoung, who wouldn’t pick up even after three calls. He called Jeongsu, but the call wouldn’t go through.

He then decided to send them texts, the only two people he could trust.

[8:54 pm] hyung, help me.

[8:55 pm] they found us and they know. theyre all after it. they broke into the house and i escaped out the window. it’s still with me. i don’t know where to go. they might kill me. please call me back as soon as you get this .

[8:57 pm] hyung i’m scared

**

a/n: *missxielan GUESS WHO IS BACK .

OH MY GOD

unforgivable i knOW i totally ditched this story in favour of other distractions in my life but hEY i came back haha. 

@ma-jewelry hopefully you can work with this, i gave this story /direction/ basically everything is kinda starting to make sense now and readers' brains shouldnt turn to complete mush trying to take in all these different characters/timelines running at once because everything is now GOING SOMEWHERE YES

over to you, chingu-yah.